William S. Ladd went on to invest in and found several businesses, including a bank, a steam navigation company, an iron works, and a railroad. He also accumulated vast land holdings, including big chunks of Southeast and Northeast Portland and Lake Oswego.

Ladd’s Addition, of course, was one of his parcels. William S. Ladd platted the development in 1891, two years before his death, but development did not take place until 1907.